We continue to be blessed with wonderful weather. As in Riga, Odysseys provided us with a local guide for our two days here. We started our tour today at 9am on our bus. First stop was east of town at the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds. The every 5 yr event played a large part in the Estonian independence movement in the late 1980's. We next stopped at the port for a potty break. Helsinki is only 90 minutes by ferry, and there is frequent service by Tallink. On next to the Rocca-al-Mare open air museum on the west side of town. Old farm buildings had been brought here from all over the country to give an idea of what things were like a couple of centuries ago. (The answer is harsh.). We then drove to the entrance to the upper portion of the Old Town, called Toompea Hill. We visited inside the Lutheran Dome Church and Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Wandered down the hill on the narrow winding streets to the lower section, where we had dinner last night. Of the 3 Old Towns that we have visited this trip, Tallinn has the most western European feel, so that we could envision ourselves in France or Italy, except for all of the funny spellings on the signs. The tour ended at 1:00 and we all scattered to the winds, except when we bumped into each other at various attractions. Priscilla found a unique linen jacket at the handicrafts market that she could not pass up. We had lunch at Beer House, recommend by Dalija based on our preference for the liquid portion of the meal. The food was very good also. We visited the City Museum after lunch. Very interesting exhibit of the history of Tallinn from the initial settlement in the Middle Ages on up to independence from the Soviets. Back up the hill to the Dome Cathedral for the midweek prayer with an organ concert at 5:00. Met Ina and Karen from our group there. We all headed back down the hill after the short concert, Ina to meet her husband for dinner, Karen hoofing it back to the hotel with us. The hotel is one of the tallest buildings in town, so it is easy to spot, and has a bar with a great view on the top floor. Met several more of our group up there. The beer we had turned out to be our dinner. I tried the sauna this evening, and found it to be very refreshing. So much so that I will end here and read for a few minutes before bed. 9:30 and finally beginning to get dark.
Full day excursion to Lahemaa National Park tomorrow, though we will be back in town for dinner. I'll tell you all about it.